When a TV drama known for the motto “The Truth Is Out There” returns during the presidency of a man who denounces real reporting as “fake news,” it might seem like something out of the twilight zone.

But that’s the case whenFox's The X-Files, which was poking at the Deep State before it became trendy, makes its first outing (Wednesday, 8 ET/PT) during the age of President Trump.

In 10 episodes, Season 11 offers the sci-fi classic’s popular mix of monster-of-the-week mysteries, government-secret and alien mythology and the push-pull of FBI partners Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) — with a side of contemporary commentary.

Duchovny embraces the longer season, preferring it to the six-episode revival in 2016 (a strong 13.6 million-viewer average), 14 years after it ended a fabled nine-season run.

Mulder (David Duchovny) visits Scully (Gillian Anderson) in the hospital in the Season 11 premiere of Fox's 'The X-Files.'(Photo: Robert Falconer/Fox)

“I’m much happier. With six episodes after a long layoff, we had a lot of legwork in explaining where these characters had been,” he says. “One of the notable things about our show was that it could stretch in so many directions: suspense, thriller, sci-fi, sometimes comedy and soap opera. With 10 episodes, it's that feeling again."

There’s even room to incorporate real-world events. Mulder mentions Trump’s hostility — “a president working to bring down the FBI” — and one episode consists of a broadly comic but blistering satire of xenophobia and obfuscation of truth, complete with a birther conspiracy reference and an alien visitor who promises to build a wall to block humans from outer space.

“The show has always been of its political moment and never more so than now, when conspiracies seem to be taken wholesale and the truth is now considered suspect,” creator Chris Carter says.

It also has been of the scientific moment, as Carter found "amazing" the recent revelation that the Pentagon had a UFO program. "The things that were science fiction in 1993, many have become science fact."

Duchovny separates Mulder's belief in conspiracy theories and suspicion of government from those championing those topics today.

"Mulder has been saying 'fake news' from the beginning: Don't believe what the government is telling you. (But) I wanted in no way for him to be aligned with Donald Trump's version of 'fake news,' " Duchovny says. "Mulder is like the flip side of people yelling 'fake news' for cynical purposes."

FBI Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) faces a test of his loyalty in Season 11 of Fox's 'The X-Files.'(Photo: Robert Falconer, Fox)

Without spoiling last season’s cliffhanger — Scully was desperately trying to save a dying Mulder when a UFO appeared — it’s clear it wasn’t the end of the world or the FBI duo, as they're back investigating cases.

Last season included mythology episodes centering on Mulder and Scully. This one opens with a revealing look at villainous Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) and ends with an episode about William, the teenage son of Mulder and Scully and an emerging key to X-Files mythology.

Carter was defensive about criticism of the 2016 return, which he attributed to people "who either had forgotten about the show, don't know the show or are not hardcore fans. … In coming back, we picked up on a larger (mythology) thread that I think sometimes was dense and complex for casual viewers."

That said, he says the 14-year TV gap made the 2016 return feel like "a standing start and now we have a bit of a running start."

David Duchovny, left, takes to series creator Chris Carter on the set of 'The X-Files.'(Photo: Robert Falconer, Fox)

Episodes this season feature killer doppelgangers, false memories and a nod to The Twilight Zone, providing a canvas for back-and-forth between Mulder and Scully.

“The relationship is strong and contentious professionally, as it's always been. Their personal relationship is not exactly frosty, but they are not together in any kind of romantic way,” Carter says. “You're going to see some exploration of that.”

Their bond with FBI supervisor Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) is murkier. “We are testing Skinner’s loyalty, his self-interest vs. his relationship to (Mulder and Scully)," Carter says.

Some drama in 2016 came from behind the scenes, as The X-Files was criticized for a lack of female writers and directors and Anderson said she initially was offered half Duchovny's pay.

Viewers will learn more about the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) in the season premiere of Fox's 'The X-Files.'(Photo: Robert Falconer, Fox)

Carter says Anderson and Duchovny are being paid the same — “and they were last time,” after the initial gap in proposed pay — and the show has three credited female writers and two women directing. “We heard people. Certainly, we are in a period of greater diversity and we tried to be true to Fox’s imperatives there.”

Neither Carter nor Duchovny — interviewed before TV Line published a story Sunday in which Anderson confirmed this will be her last season — would say whether this season will mark the end of The X-Files.

Carter says Duchovny and Anderson "are The X-Files and I think The X-Files wouldn’t be the same show without them. So as long as they’re prepared and eager to do the series, ratings holding, I certainly would anticipate more episodes."

Duchovny is non-committal. “I’m open to anything. We certainly don't need to close the door on it, but if that were the case, I'd be fine as well.”